Keepers of Existence
by Caelean
Summary: Ch. 6 up! Clockwork must find Danny. If he doesn't the other Keepers won't cooperate. Wait. What's going on? Who are the Keepers? Rated T for safety. Set after Phantom Planet.
1. Pilot: The View

**_SPOILERS! Everything in this fic is after Phantom Planet, the final episode of Season 3._**

**Well, here's a small attempt at a fic. If I get good reviews off of this, I'll probably update this more. But at the time being... just two more weeks of school and then I'll be in computer heaven.**

**I hate OCs as much as I hate losing to my brother at Mortal Kombat. Though I do make OGs. The original ghosts in this story all play an important role throughout the entire fic. So if I do get a chance to finish this, I'm estimating a fic that's about 10-25 pages _at least_.**

**Here you go, kiddies!**

Disclaimer: I will never own Danny Phantom, nor am I profiting off of this fic.

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**Keepers of Existence**

A ghost stood in front of a large portal. With a wave of his staff, the portal swirled to life, becoming an image. A year ago to this day, the world was saved from colliding into an asteroid, thanks to the help of him, all the Ghost Zone's residents, and a brave young man.

Ever since then, Danny was not limited to just the city of Amity Park. Traveling with his friends - and now his family - as one through the Ghost Zone, they've captured many ghosts from international towns and countries.

He smiled. So far, everything was fine. Though there was a small bit of doubt left… He has only seen it once, but the possibility still lingered…

He waved his staff again, moving the image on the portal slowly into the future. The fate of the world was fine for a while… but then…

"No… not _this_…" His eyes widened in fear, his child form looking even more terrified. "The others… they need to know as well."

As he exited his lair, Clockwork never thought time would come to this. The elderly ghost has seen time, from the beginning to the infinite end, and he has seen every path, every dimension time could go through. Now, life has chosen a path he never wanted to happen. And he must seek the other Keepers for help.

He couldn't rely on the Observants forever. All they did was council and observe. No… he needed his fellow brethren… ghosts with as much power as he had… enough power to defeat more than ten Pariah Darks.

The Keepers are ghosts that prevent the universe from collapsing. Clockwork was the Keeper of Time. He is the reason why there's even a tomorrow. Bending through the space-time continuum, he can move forward and backward through history, being everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

He arrived at his destination, a wasteland of ice. The empty lands didn't fool him, for within the ice lived a great and intelligent nation of beasts. A large being with a crystallized arm came to greet him, and Clockwork returned the welcome. As he discussed his matters with Frostbite, he kept his thoughts on the three remaining Keepers.

William Powers, the Keeper of Choices. He decides whether or not one is allowed to have their free will. In seconds, he can take away one's spirit, forever making them into an auto-pilot zombie. He can also undo any ghost's abilities that can alter a human's choice, sometimes even Overshadowing.

Clockwork nodded a thank you as he took the Infi-map. Teleporting out, Clockwork opened the scroll.

Treah, Keeper of Life. Without her, all life would end on Earth and the Ghost Zone. She's also the Keeper of Obsessions. Treah knows all the reasons why each ghost exists and how they can be permanently defeated.

Clockwork touched three portals. He already knew where everyone was. Though as his finger left the parchment, the selected portals were veiled in a film of white. He kept the map and headed off.

Menshan, Keeper of Space. Being a close friend of Clockwork, Menshan can bend the space-time continuum, just like Clockwork. Only this time, he has the ability to distort space, connecting realms to his liking. He helped make the Infi-map, and he has memorized all recurring portals around the world.

According to Powers, Clockwork was not allowed to interfere with the other Keeper's business. The world was going to end, though he could not meddle about any longer. He would have to let a non-Keeper do it for him. Clockwork would have to leave the future of the universe in a non-Keeper's hands.

Though this is why Clockwork never wanted time to follow this path: The future is a blank slate. Even the almighty Clockwork doesn't know what the threat is, only that he knows there is one.

"Danny Phantom, savior of the world and all of the Ghost Zone," Clockwork spoke to himself, flying towards a portal leading to Amity Park. Danny was sure to be back at school by now. "the universe is now in your hands."

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**There you go.**

**Reviews are nice. I luff them, and I can take on a few critics at the time being. Just no flames that will permanently damage or destroy my muse, please!**


	2. Reporting In

Yes, I am updating.

This one is a bit longer, though. I warn you: this is not a filler. I'm telling you now about what happened during the year after PP.

Disclaimer: I do not own or will ever own Danny Phantom. Nor am I making any money off of this story.

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"It's been a year, and I still haven't settled in.

"For the past year I have been dealing with ghosts, the media, the government, and the world. I thank whoever had the idea of letting Tucker and Sam come with me to fight the global invasions. They, Jazz, and my parents have supported me for a year.

"At the beginning, after a few days of celebrating, my parents started to get serious. They were happy that I saved the world, and they still loved me, no matter what, but they needed to know how it all happened in the first place. What my powers were, any information on ghosts I've battled, and why some events in the past made me look evil and bad. Those questions were just the basic cover-ups, though.

"There was always a bit of jealousy from them, my dad especially. They've been studying and hunting ghosts for years, their earlier years spent never even seeing one. Then they find out that their son is half ghost. A "hands-on experience" for me, they said. Thankfully, mom had the brains of the family, and knew that two halfas were enough in this world. Heck, the other was even a crazy, old and evil Fruit Loop.

"The Red Huntress. I never saw her for a long time at first. Then she started to talk to me about past events, too. A good thing she saw me the same way she saw Dani, my clone. Otherwise, I think I would've been turned into ecto-goo for more than I could count by now. Eventually we forgave each other for a few misunderstandings, but she said she'd try to sick Cujo - a ghost dog - on me as much as possible for payback. Better than being sucked into a Fenton Thermos.

"Then the Guys in White came. Oh, how my family was pissed off. Sam and Tucker tried small attempts to stop the GIW from getting to me by using Tuck's PDA and Sam's family influence. Jazz even tried psychology on them. For some, it worked. But my parents… oh, you should've seen their faces. They backfired every effort the GIW made to get to me. They say it was under the U.S. governmental law that I was taken in, my parents say that I belong to the world and can't be influenced by America's government alone. It was the same for every country that tried to claim me or hunt me down.

"During all of that, I bet I'd seen every microphone in the world. People from newspapers, radio shows, television shows, and just regular people in general followed me and asked me everything imaginable. Try to think of Paulina, following me everywhere, only times her by a million and add recorders and note pads, and tons and tons of flashing cameras. I think I was blind for a few days, too.

"This is why I love my family: they let me take my sophomore year of high school as home-schooling to go ghost hunting. So, for the rest of the year, Sam, Tucker, my family and I went on a non-stop adventure through the Ghost Zone and around the world. No government. No multi-gender Paulina's with professional suits.

"Using Tucker's new 'Infi-copy GPS' he made himself, I showed my parents every single ghost that were allies, that were neutral and those who were evil. As Danny Fenton, they would've blasted every single ghost they saw just to keep me safe. Though as Danny Phantom, I have pacts with ghosts and other beings inside the Ghost Zone. I can't lose their trust.

"When we weren't in the GZ, we visited hunter conventions I haven't even heard of. There's a whole organization in the Philippines just for identifying local ghosts. With our help, we were able to track down most of their ghosts. Not just the Philippines, but also the rest of Asia, Europe, and in some parts of Africa as well. We slowed down the ghost haunting problem around the world, eventually ending back home, here, in Amity Park.

"There. Now Sam, CAN YOU TAKE THESE THINGS OFF OF ME, NOW?"

Danny Fenton was in Casper High, Amity Park, telling his story to the first hour class. The class was given the chance to talk about any events that have happened in the past year or over the summer. Naturally, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley were his partners. Sam forced a ghost resistant rope around Danny and a chair so that he wouldn't escape from his first assignment of the year. Plus, Sam and Tucker didn't feel like explaining anything at all.

Paulina was furious. Sam had made Danny read the Paulina lines out loud, threatening him that he wouldn't be let go if he didn't. Valerie was satisfied that Danny still tried and is trying to save the world from ghosts. Plus, she was happy that Danny mentioned her as the Red Huntress. Even though Danny was revealed, nobody knew about her except for Danny and co. and her dad. Everybody else was awestruck at what Danny did in just one year.

As Danny was let go, he finally got a good look at his junior year class. It was funny; nobody changed in one year. Dash and Kwan were still the star jocks at the school; Starr and Paulina were still in the A-List, and Mr. Lancer became junior year Literature teacher. Sam was, and forever will be, an ultra-recyclo vegetarian Goth. Tucker still slept with his first PDA. If anything had changed, it was Danny. He was no longer the wimpy geek that was slammed into lockers.

"Thank you, kids, for sharing your timely events. Unfortunately, it has taken up most of the hour." As Mr. Lancer said so, Danny, Sam and Tucker went back to their usual seats. "Now class, I still want to hear each and every one of your compositions. This is an eighth grade level assignment, and I expect no less than a tenth grade level report."

Paulina energetically raised her hand. "Ooo can I go next?! I can't wait to share!"

Mr. Lancer placed his palms flat on his desk and sighed. "Yes, Ms. Sanchez, you may be next."

Sam groaned. She whispered, "I bet she changed her whole essay just to tick me off."

Of course, Sam didn't tell her parents that she went on the trip with Danny. It was her parents that encouraged most of the media, and they gave them private access to him through her.

"Bet you ten bucks that she wrote about Danny more than you." Tucker lifted a ten-dollar bill from his pocket. "Plus, loser treats us at the Nasty Burger this afternoon."

While they were gone on the yearlong hunting experience, Tucker had done online business as the new mayor of Amity Park. Doing so put quite a bit of money into his account.

Sam smirked and lifted her own bill. "Deal."

Danny chuckled slightly. "This is going to be good."

As Paulina inhaled, preparing to read her paper, a clock hand came out of nowhere, and it swirled to reveal a portal. Danny stood up as his ghost sense went off. He recognized that signature portal all too well. As expected, Clockwork, Master of Time, appeared through his entry.

"A Tale of Two Cities!" Lancer cried as he saw the ghost. "What is going o—"

"TIME OUT!"

Just before the whole room became a chaotic jumble of students, Clockwork froze time, leaving him the only animate organism in the room. He approached Danny and placed one of his Time Medallions around him.

"H-huh? Wha--?" Danny blinked. He looked around the room to see everyone unmoving. "Clockwork? What are you doing here??"

Clockwork tossed the Infi-Map into Danny's hands. "Danny," his stern eyes softened to show that he was unsure… he was scared. "I need your help."

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Yes, yes, the quest will come in the next chapter.

Thankies for reading!


	3. Humor Me

**Yes, it's been a long time since I've updated, but I was having an end-of-the-year sleep over. Yeah... SCHOOL'S OUT, BABY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, or will ever own, Danny Phantom and relative characters. I am not making money off of this story.**

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"Clockwork? You mean, right now? My help, right now?" Danny stared in disbelief, from the Infi-Map to the timely ghost. "I just got back to school!" 

Clockwork sighed. Of course Danny would rebel; this was the only time Danny _wanted_ to be in school. He hasn't been in a stable environment since a week before the asteroid. Though, this is more important than literature, or history… In fact, if someone doesn't act now… there would be no future to continue history. "Danny, as we stand here right now, a great evil will come to engulf the entire universe. And I speak the truth when I say I do not know what this evil is."

"You — wait… you _don't_ know? Is that significant? I mean, you're supposed to know everything. Right?" Danny stood up from his desk. Was this all a joke? Does Clockwork make jokes?

"Further proof that whatever is coming has greater power than I. It has concealed itself from my sight."

If this _thing_ was strong enough to scare Clockwork, how was Danny supposed to defeat it? "What do you want _me_ to do? Sure, I saved the world, but I still needed the help of all the ghosts from the Ghost Zone, too." His legs started to feel like mush.

Clockwork took the flap from the Infi-Map and opened it fully. "I need you to find three ghosts. These ghosts never showed up during the asteroid. They go by the name, the Keepers." He pointed to the white portals glowing on the map. "Within each of these lairs, a Keeper lies dormant."

Clockwork pointed to a door in the shape of a heart. "This is Treah, Keeper of Life." He dragged his finger over to another portal, its shape a Renaissance wall mirror. "This one belongs to William Powers, Keeper of Choices." Finally, he showed Danny the last portal. The door, however, didn't have a form of it's own. It morphed into other doors every few seconds. "And here is Menshan, Keeper of Space."

Danny stared at the map. "What do the Keepers have to do with any of this? And why don't you do it yourself?" Danny backfired.

"Because I, too, am a Keeper. William has made a rule that Keepers cannot interfere with each other until an outside influence forces them to come together."

Danny started to get the point. "And I'm supposed to be the outside influence. Gotcha. All I have to do is get you guys together? That will stop this 'evil?'"

Clockwork nodded. "The combined force of the Keepers will strip the threat raw. Because of our powers, though, it will be hard for you to persuade the others."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought so… any tips on what I should do first?"

Clockwork smiled. Danny was a good kid, and he was proud to be his guardian. "If you had to start with one, I would try Menshan." Danny rolled up the map as Clockwork talked. "He is a personal friend of mine. The hardest part would be identifying his portal. He likes to hide among other doors, and the Infi-Map was based off of his knowledge. But once you go through his door, everything should be fine."

Danny sat back down. If he does gather all four Keepers, he would officially be promoted to 'Savior of the Universe.' Great. That means aliens would come down and take pictures of him, too. "Are Sam and Tucker allowed to help me?"

"Yes, of course. Which reminds me…" He gave Danny two other medallions. Using his staff, Clockwork morphed the pendants so that his symbol was smaller and created more room. "Each time they reveal their powers to you, the medallion will counter their effects, just like mine.

"Danny, I want you to be careful. I haven't seen William or Treah in over a million years, Menshan in nearly ten thousand. They may have changed since then."

"Yeah, sure."

With one swoop of his staff, Clockwork exited the classroom within a similar portal.

"-on!?" Danny jumped as Mr. Lancer finished his question and as time continued. Seconds later, everyone looked around the classroom, looking for the invading ghost. "MR. FENTON! What just happened in here!?!"

Danny sulked. _Clockwork didn't stop time first on purpose…_ then he smirked. _I guess he _does _have a sense of humor_. "May I be excused? For the rest of the day?"

Mr. Lancer recollected his cool and relaxed in his chair. "Not off to fight some ghost, are you? Because your parents can handle that." During the week before school, Danny's parents made sure that Danny stays in class, no matter what. No excuses.

"Well…" Danny looked at the pendant around his neck, and the ones he was hiding under his desk. "What if, hypothetically, that the world was going to end, again? Not only that, but the universe as well?"

"Mr. Fenton, being a celebrity doesn't give you the right to use that excuse. Just because one ghost came inside this room and disappeared, doesn't mean that it will destroy the world."

Paulina then dashed from the front of the room to right where Danny is sitting. You could practically see the hearts coming from her eyes. "WEEEEEE!!!" Then Danny was engulfed in the first, ever, real hug directed toward him from Paulina. "Danny's gonna fight a ghost!"

"Yeah, go Danny!"

"I should've brought my video camera…"

"I want to see him go ghost again!"

Tucker and Sam were in tears, laughing. Sam held out her hand. "O-okay, Tuck…. Hahahaha! Pay up!"

Tucker wasn't laughing anymore. "WHAT! For which bet?"

"_Why do you guys keep betting on me now…….?_"

"The one from yesterday: I bet that the first ghost attack would be in Mr. Lancer's class."

Tucker mumbled incoherently through clenched teeth and handed over a ten. Danny tried desperately to break free from Paulina. "Mr. Lancer, may I _please_ be excused?"

"Fine, Mr. Fenton. But, once you return, I expect you to stay after school."

"Deal. Come on, guys." Danny turned intangible and grabbed Sam and Tucker by the arms. He fled through the wall, going ghost while doing so.

"The Thief Lord, Mr. Fenton! Bring back Manson and Foley, THIS INSTANT!"

"YEAH! Take _me_ instead!!"

Sam chuckled, but then noticed the medallion around Danny's neck. "So… Clockwork is making you do something, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah… and I think… I think Clockwork is scared about it."

"About what, dude?" Tucker asked. "We didn't get a chance to hear exactly what he said."

"I'll tell you on the way to the Ghost Zone." Danny landed on top of a building not far from the Fenton Works building. He opened up the Infi-Map to show Tucker and Sam. "These white portals lead to ghosts Clockwork wants me to get. We have to go to this one first." Danny pointed to Menshan's door, which currently looked like a steel door.

Tucker took out his PDA. Using his Infi-copy GPS, Tucker scanned his map and compared it to the original. "I didn't see these doors when I upgraded our map."

Sam looked at the Infi-Map carefully. "Why these three, though?"

Danny looked around, searching for the portal that was supposed to show up. He spotted it towards his right, just above Town Hall. "Let's hurry. I'll explain everything by the time we get there." He once again took their arms and flew them into the portal.

* * *

Deep in the depths of space, trillions of light-years away from Earth, a giant, living entity cackled in delight. Within the clouds of space, it was able to see any potential threats to its plan. "So… a little Earth Ghost thinks it can stop me?" Its deep, rumbling voice oozed out thickly, drowning any stars within reach into total darkness. "The fools. I am invincible. My being is more powerful than all Earth Ghosts put together, including the Keepers of which the boy seeks." 

More dangerous than a black hole, it moved slowly through the universe, getting ever closer to the Milky Way galaxy. "I _will_ kill you, no matter what it takes."

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**Yeah... trying to think of a name for the new evil person, ghost, thingy.**

**I'm a sucker for many characters in the show, so expect some familiar faces next time I update.**

**Reviews are nice. If you have to flame, flame politely. **


	4. Which Door?

**Yeah, so this is an update. For real this time.**

**I've been in Germany for the past two weeks, and now I'm in the babysitting service for a whole month. Then i have to volunteer in August for a vacation religion school, but that will only be in the mornings.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. I only own the Original Ghosts and the plot.**

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"Dude, Clockwork said that Menshan would be the _easiest_?" 

Danny, Sam and Tucker reached the area where Menshan's door was supposed to be, but it was a nightmare. Hundreds, if not thousands, of doors and portals swirled about, making it confusing to find any one specific door, let alone find one that's constantly changing.

"I remember this." Danny turned around, scanning as far as he could see. "Remember when my mom spotted something on the radar that looked like a massive ecto-hole?"

Tucker let go of Danny's hold and landed on a floating rock. "Yeah. Something like a portal gone haywire?" Tucker took out his PDA and video-recorded everything.

Danny nodded. "I was outside the Specter Speeder that time. I was trying to look for the massive portal, but all I saw were a bunch of green dots." Danny furled his eyebrows. "I think I saw this place, too, when I was rounding up ghosts, but I wasn't really paying attention."

Sam hugged Danny for dear life as a door with bright, floral colors approached her. She could've sworn she heard, "_Join us_," from it. "I think I'd prefer the ecto-hole. This place is creepy."

Danny smiled when Sam hugged him. Now that they officially call themselves "love-birds" after all these years, Danny wasn't shy anymore about showing his affection. "Okay, guys. We need to find this Menshan guy before any of these doors decide to let out a few ghosts."

* * *

Maddie Fenton was working on her latest project: a device that can recreate a ghost's natural abilities. Maddie held up the arm brace, looking for any deformities or missing wires. "I think this is it, Jack."

"Alright, Mads!" Jack Fenton looked up from a project of his own. "But how are we gonna test it? Danny is in school." Jack pumped some ectoplasm into a chamber, where some regular items were sitting around. "Let's go get him!"

"Now Jack," Maddie placed the brace down and headed toward the opposite side of the Fenton Works lab. "Danny hasn't been to his school for a year. At least give him one or two weeks alone. Besides, we promised the school that we would take care of the ghost hunting, so there will be plenty of ghosts to test these things on." Then she kissed her husband on the cheek.

Jack pulled a lever while saying, "Yeah… it's only fair. But we've just got back, and I haven't even tried any of our old inventions on him yet!"

Maddie giggled and went back to her brace. "What should we call this, Jack?"

Before Jack could answer, the phone rang by him. He took the phone off of the receiver and said, "This is Fenton Works! Jack Fenton speaking." As Jack listened, he became worried. "Are you sure?" He groaned. "Yes… yes, thank you."

Maddie ran towards Jack. "What was it?"

Jack puffed and folded his arms. "Danny is ghost hunting without US!"

* * *

"Okay, now find a door that looks like a well!"

Danny flew around, holding the Infi-Map in one hand, lifting Sam or Tucker in the other, and trying to find out why the Infi-Map won't lead them to the exact door.

Sam landed on a rock above Danny. She spotted a well to her left, a geyser to her right, and another well spinning clockwise. "BE MORE SPECIFIC!" She shouted.

Tucker jumped for Danny. "Elevator going up!" He used a floating door as an extra boost to just reach Danny's hand.

Danny caught Tucker's arm and threw him towards other floating rocks. "It changed again! Now it's a… giant teddy bear? But it has a rip down the middle… I guess that's the door."

Tucker spun around. "There are two teddy bears on this level!"

"Same here, Danny! What else does it have?"

"One of the ears is shorter than the other!" Danny flew towards them, getting ready before the lair changed again.

"Nope! Sam, how 'bout you?" Tucker hopped up the boulders and platforms, trying to reach Sam.

"Both of mine have one short ear. They look exactly the same." Sam grabbed Tucker as he reached her, and Danny stood by them.

Danny looked at the map. The portal didn't change yet. "Okay guys…. We found it…. Now, we just need to wait and see which one changes. Then we know that that one is Menshan's. Easy, right?"

* * *

"In honor of the world wide hero, Danny Phantom, I now open the first official Ghostology and Ectology college lab and library."

Jazz Fenton gave a huge sigh of relief. She was now in her first year of college, and was given the honors of hosting this event. She has waited long for the day that she would make a difference in life, whether it was her smarts or ghost experience. She found a way to do a little of both.

Professors from around the world congratulated her, asking how long it took to gather most of her resources and for any personal incidents. Some ghost hunters and researchers thanked her for publicizing their works through the facility. None of it would have been accomplished if Danny had not saved the world.

Her cell-phone rang. "Thank you all. Excuse me for a moment." She checked the caller ID. It was listed as M. Fenton. She pressed the button and spoke, "Hi, mom! … No, Danny didn't come this way… Are you serious? … I'll try to help. … Okay… Love you, too. Thanks."

She clicked the phone off. "I'm sorry for the delay, professors, but I have some business to attend to. Thank you for your time."

Jazz rushed to her dorm. "Can't Danny just stay put for one day? This is my second week of school, and I've been working on preparing that lab for a year now!"

In her room, she fished through a few of her drawers. Most of them had ghost equipment in them. Finally, she found what she was looking for. "You'd think he'd learn his lesson after being hit by this so many times."

She took a pad, scribbled down something, and then attached it to the Fenton Booooo-merang. "Find Danny. And hit him REALLY hard this time." As the tracker left her hand, Jazz's expression softened. "Danny… please be okay."

* * *

"Why is it taking it so long to change???"

The three of them stared at the two teddy bears. They have been staring at them for nearly ten minutes now. Danny sighed. "Should we just try to wing it and open one?"

Tucker waved his hands, "no." "Are you kidding? Sure, the bears are cute now, but what if we went through the wrong one and find, like, a million bear ghosts snarling at us? Plus, we would miss the other portal and it would probably change by the time we got out."

Sam heaved a sigh. "Well… at least _these_ bears are not alive. Danny…. are you sure one of these are it?"

Finally taking his eyes off of the portals, he checked the map again. He scrunched his eyes. The door was now an elevator door. Danny looked up, and sure enough, one of them was now an elevator. "You guys, there it is!"

"Okay, well, which one is it then?"

Sam stood up. "Yeah. How can you tell?"

Danny flew up to the new door and held it. "It's this one! Didn't you see it change?"

Tucker jumped to grab Danny's hand. "It's still a bear, dude. It hasn't changed at all."

Sam in turn grabbed Tucker's arm. If this one is truly it, how come you figured it out before us?"

Danny looked at the door. "Well, I looked down at the map and…" Suddenly, everything started to fall into place. "…Wait… if Menshan wanted to keep his lair hidden, that is why he has a changing door. If someone wanted to find that door… it would always… change… when someone looked away! It changed for me, because I looked away!"

Sam and Tucker weren't sure if they got it straight… but, ghosts are ghosts, and human logic isn't always helpful. Tucker shrugged. "Okay, then this door is it. Let's get inside already, before I let go of Sam!"

* * *

For the 385,442nd time, he sighed. "It's so _boring_ out here!"

Vlad Plasmius. A.K.A. Vlad Masters. A.K.A. The Most Hated Guy on Earth. A.K.A. The Seriously Crazed Up Fruit Loop. He has been wondering aimlessly throughout the universe, searching for anything to do, anywhere to stay, and anywhere where there's no asteroids to ram into.

He had so much time, that he found out that his helmet ran out of air months ago. He also found out that there were certain wormholes that took him to different galaxies. Though, Vlad lost track of time and space what seemed like ages ago.

"There's nothing to do out here! I've been talking to myself forever!"

Then, he saw something… it was glowing, just like ectoplasm. "A ghost… other than me!" He smiled, and boy what a smile it was. "HEY! EXCUSE ME!" He flew in complete joy, something he hadn't experienced since… well… ever.

Then, just like that, the form disappeared. Like a mirage or an illusion, it just wasn't there anymore.

Vlad was now VERY disappointed. Kicking a nearby rock, he used up the energy he built from his excitement. "Do other ghosts know about me as well? Does whatever happen on Earth affect the universe?"

"_Do all Earth Ghosts rant out loud?_"

Vlad stopped. He looked everywhere for the voice that spoke to him. Was he delusional? Did insanity finally catch up to him?

Then Vlad noticed something… as he turned around in a circle, stars seemed to disappear from one area… the place that thing came from and disappeared. "Show yourself!" Vlad demanded. He formed an ecto-blast in his hands. "I am no ordinary ghost!"

"_No… you are not… and I am no ordinary being myself._" Vlad realized that his ghost sense didn't go off… he wasn't facing a ghost… Shivers ran down his spine as _it_ continued to talk. "_Unlike you… and unlike any ghost or form from the universe… I am that which cannot be stopped. I cannot be stopped, for I am invincible._"

Somehow, Vlad knew the being was coming towards him. He threw the blast at the empty space, but it just disappeared again. He scooted back, getting away from the thing that can't be seen. "Who are you, then? And what is your purpose?"

"_Why should I tell you, Earth Ghost? So you can stop me, like many other beings that have tried and are trying? I have seen many things, and all of which could not destroy me. Weaklings, they are._"

Vlad looked behind him for a place to escape. The thing was still after him. Vlad noticed that it swallowed everything in its path! He saw a portal not too far away, but he had to act fast… "Are… are you a black-hole?"

"_BLACK-HOLE?! They are nothing but giant, mindless fools. They do not even care to move. They are weak as well; they cannot even completely destroy some of what they take in._"

"Then, ANSWER ME!" Just a few more… almost there… "WHAT ARE YOU!"

"_YOU DISRESPECTFUL FOOL! NO ONE DISRESPECTS ME AND LIVES!_ I AM—"

Vlad flew through the portal, and seconds afterwards, the portal was gone, engulfed by whatever that thing was. Fear struck him. It was heading towards Earth. The thing can't be stopped. Vlad is—

Wait. Vlad's old smirk came back, slowly creeping broader. "Earth, in trouble, once again?" Vlad searched the new area he landed in, trying to go for the nearest portal. "Looks like I've gained my second chance."

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Yeah. I have the name for the giant-evil-blob-of-darkness, but you'll just have to wait. XD 


	5. Menshan, Keeper of Space

**I told you I would update before the month ended! XD**

**I'm kinda in a stump right now, so this chappie is shorter than what i expected. with school and all, it's hard to follow a story-line when you are already swamped in books.**

**Enjoy!**

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Danny, Sam and Tucker toppled through the door. Sam groaned. "I hate ghost physics… you never know when gravity will take you down."

Then a monotonous beeping noise rang in their ears. "Oh, no…" Tucker took out his PDA. "NO SERVICE?!?! NOOO!!!! MY BABY!!!!!!!!!"

Danny chuckled, despite knowing how much technology means to his best friend. Helping Sam get up, Danny shook his head to clear his vision.

When they came to, Danny thought he was hallucinating. They landed in a large atrium, portals jutting out from the walls, and just as many hallways in all directions. THOSE hallways led to even more portals and similar rooms. Never ending, everything infinite.

Danny was so overwhelmed, he had to land and sit down to take it all in. "Well, we're here. Menshan's Lair."

Tucker's curiosity led him to a random portal, and he stuck his head right through. When he pulled back, his face was pale with fright. "This place never ends! There was another room behind this one!"

Sam copied Tucker, only on the opposite side of the room. "Tucker's right, Danny. We could get lost if we're not careful!"

Danny slowly stood up. "I think we're already lost." Danny opened the Infi-Map, but it was blank. The grids, the different portals, everything was gone.

Tucker and Sam stood close to him. Danny took a step forward. "Well, no use just staying in one place anymore. Let's get going."

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From the depths of Limbo, a figure of a man stirred. "Why must my rest always be disturbed?" He knew that someone invaded his space. He knew there were three of them, slowly moving down the many paths. "And why must they always advance instead of retreating back to safety?"

He shook his head as he recounted the many times adventurers stumbled into his lair. "You would think it would be the _masters_ of the original portals would go through the wrong door… No… it has to be the random poltergeist, or the occasional mortal.

"Ah… but this is unusual…" In his mind's eye, Menshan could see the intruders. "Never have I seen mortals or ghosts _together_ when they enter… this company… however… are acquainted with each other."

He was in an isolated room, a single portal flashing random colors. Menshan stopped the doorway to become a dark navy blue. In his mind, the three prowlers were heading in that direction, and they were only a few meters away. "Let us see how they react to the Master of Space, hm?"

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"Danny, do you even know what we're supposed to do?" Tucker walked nervously as they passed the many doorways, expecting ghosts or monsters to come roaring right out of them. "This place goes on forever."

Though Danny had the ghost powers, he was starting to get a bit edgy himself. "Clockwork said to start with Menshan first, but he never told me what to do once we got inside."

Sam twisted her pendant around in her palm. Clockwork's power on the charm now held enough energy to work against the others, but only if they use their powers in the first place. "Great… that makes me feel _a lot_ better. How are we supposed to find him?"

"_Why do that when I am already here?_"

Tucker, Sam and Danny flinched at the new voice, a figure appearing from a nearby portal to accompany it. Menshan bore an insignia wih an "M" on a robe similar to Clockwork's. But unlike Clockwork, Menshan had the constant appearance of a young man. His robe was an endless gray, just like Limbo, where space went on for infinity. Though something caught their eyes immediately; Menshan was missing his right arm.

"Three trespassers… and so young as well…"

Danny finally found his words. "Menshan, we need to speak with you, and it's very important!"

"How is it so important? I do not even know you." Danny saw his arm twitch with anticipation.

Then Menshan saw what was around their necks. "_You_ have the medallions made by Clockwork?"

"Yes, but that's why—"

Again, he found another discovery. "The Infi-Map as well?!" Danny began to sense a deep and powerful rage.

"This is _not _good, Danny…"

"Defilers of the Ghost Zone, YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS!!"

"You guys, scatter!" Danny pushed them into the nearest portals and jumped into one as well. He was just barely missed by Menshan's grasp.

"Danny you idiot!" Sam frantically stood back up and started running. She dare not look behind. She had to keep going. Portal. Hallway. Portal. Portal. Room. "Dang it… I'll die in here! Master of Space my face! _No one_ can find their way in here!"

Tucker wasn't having that much luck, either. As he ran, he tried scanning portals, but each time he entered a new area, his screen would once again fall blank. "Aw man! A techno-geek like me can't survive here! That's it! If we make it out alive, I'm gonna trap Danny in the thermos for a week!"

Danny didn't have time to split himself. Like the others, he flew randomly through different areas of Limbo. "If Menshan is the Master of Space, then he could be everywhere!" Flying was fast, but he almost crashed into a wall that had a wide space between portals. "What's even worse, he thinks we did something bad to Clockwork! At least Clockwork was rational enough to do a "talk first, fight later" thing!"

Danny was right. Menshan split himself in three and flew at different portals. "_I have memorized every passageway made, fools!_" He said in unison. "_You children will pay for disrupting my dear friends, and for disrupting me!_"

All three of them heard him, and they all stopped. Danny went ballistic and fired ectoplasm in all directions, blindly defending himself from the coming ghost. Sam backed up against the few existing wall space, so that Menshan could only appear from the sides and front. Tucker caught himself in the middle of a room, and he didn't dare make one more step. All he could do was wait.

Danny slowed down after a while. No Menshan ghost was after him. "Did he go for the others first?" He flew toward a random portal.

Menshan knew which portal he was heading towards, so one of his copies beat him to the other side. "Hand over the Infi-Map and medallion, and I promise you this: your punishment will be easier than if you refuse."

Danny had an ecto-blast ready to be fired if anything went wrong during his witty banter. "How about I keep them both, and you let me go?" It didn't feel right. Danny needed Menshan to be an _ally_. This is just making it even worse.

"You could not have obtained those items without harming my friends!" Menshan edged in closer to Danny. He could grab either the Infi-map or the medallion in one attempt now.

Danny tried to scoot back, but then he realized one thing; the other two Menshan clones came from behind, and bound him in an arm lock. "Menshan, you don't know what you're doing!"

"I know what I am doing." He took Clockwork's pendant. And to Danny's amazement, with just a slicing motion, a rip through space appeared before his eyes. "And I, the Master of Space, sentence you to _eternal_ imprisonment."

Without warning, Danny was pushed through the rift. The rift closed, trapping Danny in a prison not unlike Level 0. Everything around him was dark, and when he tried to find a way out, the space was never ending. "Omigosh, omigosh, I'm trapped and Tucker and Sam are still there! THIS SUCKS!!!"

Unknown to Danny, Sam's and Tucker's pendants glowed, and Menshan's insignia engraved itself onto it. Sam looked. "Menshan? That means… someone saw his power. Oh, no… I need to find them, _NOW_!"

_Beep bee di BEEP_! Tucker heard his PDA ping as his medallion stopped glowing. "YES!! YOU'RE ALIVE, MY PRECIOUS!" Tucker was finally able to start a map of Limbo. With just one scan, Tucker was able to track the different portals, but only one at a time. "Okay… time to find the others. And try not to get sucked into a different dimension at the same time."

As Menshan closed the portal, he saw his initial form, just like Sam and Tucker. His clones also merged back with himself. "My powers, useless? Clockwork has really outdone himself." He wrapped the strap around his palm, and headed toward a random portal. "Now for the other intruders."

Sam called out her friends' names, hoping that at least one of them survived. "Tucker! Danny! Where are you!?"

Tucker skidded to a halt. He heard Sam. "HEY! I'm down this way!"

Sam immediately turned towards his voice. "Where's Danny?" She called. As she went through a portal, there was still no one in sight.

Tucker followed her voice, which got nearer. He stepped through another portal. Still no one. "I haven't seen him! And my PDA isn't ready yet for any ghost tracking!"

His voice was closer. "What about Menshan?"

_Just one more portal..._ And he was right. Tucker faced a panting Sam, shaken by the fact that Danny might be hurt, lost or even gone. "The medallions are working, so if we're safe, Danny's safe, right?"

It was a false hope, but Sam clung onto it. "Danny is Danny, and he can survive anything. We need to find Menshan first. That is first priority right now..." _Second priority; kick his butt if he touched my boyfriend!_

Danny couldn't find up or down anymore. "If Menshan lives in Limbo, then where's this??" Danny conjured up an ecto-blast, and shot it right in front of him. The blast continued down the endless void. "Aw man... So this is what that FRUITLOOP must be experiencing right now... I can barely make it through a couple of minutes." And in mere hours, Danny figured he would lose his mind as well.

Menshan couldn't imprison the intruders anymore, so he just went on without a plan. "These meddling pests have something to do with Clockwork and dear Frostbite." Menshan opened the Infi-map. The coordinates were back in place. "And it looks like they are heading for the other Keepers as well..." With one last glance at the map, he rolled it up and placed both the pendant and map in his robe. "I cannot let them continue further. They know about the Keepers. They must be _IT_."

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**Oh, no! What is _IT_? Will Danny go insane? Find out on the next chapter of: KEEPERS OF EXISTENCE!!!**

**... which might be out on Halloween, because of the ghost business. If not Halloween, sometime sooner.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Calculations

**I'm so sorry for not uploading a new chapter... So here's the next one for real. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. I only own whatever ghosts that are not in the cartoon.**

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Danny continued to wonder aimlessly through the endless dark void. "SAM? TUCKER?" He called. Though it may be pointless, no harm in trying, right? Without solid ground, Danny couldn't figure out if there was gravity. And frankly, he didn't want to turn back into a human to see if there was any. "This is a never ending nightmare! If I don't get out of here soon… I'm going to be only the ghost who's afraid of the dark!"

Danny flew forwards and backwards, soon losing his sense of direction and the feeling if he was even moving. "C'mon guys…" He pleaded. "Hurry!"

Sam and Tucker were both heading down the endless hallways, staring at Tucker's PDA for any sign of spectral movement. "Tucker…" Sam whined. "We've been doing this for ages! We don't even know where Danny is!"

Tucker did not dare to look at Sam. When Danny is gone the rest of the day, they're usually used to it if it was Vlad or some other ghost in Amity. But they weren't in Amity and they have never dealt with a ghost like this before. "Come on, we can't give up! No matter what, Menshan has to appear. He has to."

When the stomach growls but your head is caught in a headache, everything becomes one big mess. Being caught in a world that leads to more portals, they were nauseous. Portal after portal, hallway after hallway, the maze never ended, no matter where they went or how randomly they moved. Plus, Tucker's PDA could only go so far without showing a blank part of the map. And for every second they didn't see either Menshan or Danny, the more they doubted if Danny even survived…

Menshan was having fun teasing the remaining intruders. "Even with my powers interrupted, I have memorized all of the portals by heart." The boy who was leading went through an entrance… They were a few rooms away from where Menshan resided. "A pathetic piece of outdated technology will not outsmart the Keeper of Space." He moved to the side and suddenly became miles apart from the minors.

"It has been so long since I have seen the other Keepers…" Menshan contemplated how they could have conquered Clockwork. "How can a bunch of _children_ possess such powerful tokens from Clockwork?"

Menshan was not about to stall any longer. "If dearest Clockwork is still unharmed, I need to demand answers before he is. Let me see…. Two portals down." Menshan glided over to his right and entered the portal.

Tucker's PDA beeped rapidly; a large red dot flashed in the middle of his screen. "Oh, crud. Sam, we've got company!"

Sam shot her head up from the device and looked around. Nothing was apparent at first… until a chilling aura cast down upon them from behind. "I am tired of playing. You must tell me all you know if you are ever to see your ghost friend again."

Sam held back a shiver. She turned around to face the Keeper of Space. "Where's Danny?" Her attempt at being demanding was on the edge of failure.

Menshan smirked. "You are afraid, are you not?" Tucker turned around meekly. Menshan's smirk vanished. "If you are fearful of me, how did you face up to Clockwork?"

Sam and Tucker scooted back a bit. Tucker muttered. "W-we came to find you—"

"—So what? So you could control _my_ powers as well?"

_Control?_ Sam pouted. "Is that why you tried to scare us? You thought we _forced_ Clockwork for these pendants?" Sam held her medallion in her palms.

Menshan was dumbfounded, confused. "Why would Clockwork trust a bunch of adolescences with such knowledge and power?"

Tucker explained nervously, "Clockwork mentioned that the universe was going to end soon, and wanted us to gather the rest of these "Keepers." He said you were the Keeper of Space, and he also said that you were his friend."

Menshan did not say a word for a long time. Then a smirk cracked on his face, and grew into a hearty laughter. "Forgive me! I have been so naïve! Please forgive my misunderstanding; it has been a long time since I last met Clockwork, and I did not expect for him to have messengers."

Sam and Tucker sighed. Tucker even sat down from all the stress and worry. Sam, on the other hand, was furious. "Where's Danny, and what did you do to him?!" Her demanding voice returned.

Menshan's laughter quieted. "Of course, the ghost child." Menshan handed Sam the pendant he was holding. He then moved his hand in a cutting motion, creating a large rip into space. Tucker and Sam only watched as he reached inside, jerked, and pulled out a terror-stricken Danny.

"DANNY!"

Danny's eyes squinted and blinked rapidly. The lights of the portals made him flinch. "It's too bright! Where am I? Am I dead?" He continued asking incoherent questions.

Menshan let go of the paranoid child, and Tucker and Sam ran up to help him. Tucker reassured Danny, telling him that he was back. "Dude, relax. Menshan's a good guy now… You're back with us."

Sam put Danny's pendant back on and gave him a long kiss in the cheek. Danny stopped his spazzing and relaxed. When Sam stopped, Danny blushed. "Thanks."

Danny turned back to Menshan, who was quietly waiting. "I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused you."

Menshan shook his head. "No, the trouble was all mine. I had misunderstood your motives, and I apologize. Though," Menshan took out the Infi-Map. "I am still curious as to why Clockwork would give you the coordinates to the Keepers."

"Jack, wait for me before going into the Ghost Zone. I'm still talking with Mr. Lancer… No… Okay. Bye." Maddie turned off her Fenton Phones and turned back to Danny's teacher. "I'm sorry, please continue."

"Mrs. Fenton, I understand that Danny has acquired certain ghost friends over the years, is that correct?"

Maddie nodded. "Danny made sure that we knew which ghosts not to attack."

Mr. Lancer walked over to his desk and produced a tape from one of the drawers. "A ghost came by earlier today, but it left after a second. We managed to get three full seconds of the ghost before it disappeared."

Maddie and Mr. Lancer walked over to a nearby television and popped in the video. Maddie studied the portal that appeared and the fuzzy outline of the appearing ghost. It had a staff, and the ghost hit it, causing it to vanish.

"Hold on…" Maddie played back the scene and paused it when the ghost appeared. "I think… I think this one is called "Clockwork." Danny never took us to see him, though, so I can't be sure…" Maddie contemplated the matter. "I'll just have to check the files back at the lab. Is this all?"

Mr. Lancer shook his head. "I've prepared Danny's homework, and I would like to see him after school tomorrow." Mr. Lancer gave Danny's homework and backpack to Maddie.

Maddie gave a thankful smile. "I'm sorry for Danny's behavior again. We'll try to do better in the future." Finally, Maddie left the room.

While driving the Fenton AV, Maddie turned on her Fenton Phones. "Jack, open up the Ghost File "Clockwork" under Danny's friends. I want to know what he does when I get back home… yes, I'll pick up fudge on the way."

Clockwork was pacing back and forth at his lair. The Observants were again prodding him about meddling in. "The Keeper of Choice will not like what you have done."

"William agreed not to interfere with my choices." Clockwork's elderly eyes pierced into their eye heads.

"If we didn't know any better we'd say that _you_ are the cause of this "universal" devastation."

"Your _observations_ are defective; I do not cause the future: I manage it. I only interfere when I think its best for time, not what's best for me."

"Then why don't you fix this dilemma?"

"Then I would have to go back to the asteroid and let it hit Earth. Do you want the Ghost Zone to be destroyed?" The Observants didn't respond. "I didn't think so."

"So… dearest Clockwork has seen the end of the universe…"

Danny nodded. "He said that he doesn't know what the cause is. He needs the other Keepers to help destroy whatever is causing the world to end."

Menshan closed his eyes and furrowed his 'brows. "I have seen a pattern recently… Can this be connected?" Menshan started down the hallway. "Follow me. I believe I may have a hint of what the threat is."

Danny looked at his friends, and followed the Keeper. Many portals continued to flash colors. "How do you know which portals lead where?"

Menshan answered without stopping. "These portals are a part of me. The concept is similar to ghost clones; you know where they are and what happens to them, because they originally come from you." Menshan entered a green portal.

Danny and co. entered before the portal changed. "Then what is the pattern that you're talking about?"

"I have a model of all of the existing portals around the universe. There are millions of portals out in space, and yet they are all light-years apart. Recently, I have been noticing that some are disappearing."

Menshan entered another portal, only this one was different; it was gray, and it wasn't glowing or flickering. They followed suit. Inside was a single room with no other portals. It was dark, but there were shiny dots floating in the room.

Menshan's eyes greeted them. "Welcome to the Universe. Outsiders' eyes have not seen this room, until now. We Keepers use this map to keep track of the universe. The dots floating around us are current existing portals in the universe." Menshan's hand started to glow. "There are portals that have been erased." Red dots appeared before them. They were all placed in random areas. "They have been deleted based on universal ghost traffic. Others…" Menshan's hand glowed again, producing a series of green dots. "… Have been destroyed by force." Menshan's eyes flew up to a certain point in the map, where green dots formed a line. "There is a recent activity in space that are causing my portals to be deleted, one at a time."

Danny flew up to Menshan's position. "And these are all light-years apart, you said?"

"Yes. Ten portals vanished in a few month's time."

Tucker scanned the room. "And it's just in one line? There's no other pattern from any other direction?"

"No… These portals are all from the same attacker. Plus," Menshan's hand glowed a final time. Existing white lights now turned blue near the green ones. "These portals were all severely damaged. Whatever is coming is at least one light-year long."

Sam asked, "Where do you think it's going?"

Menshan's eyes went down the map. "By my calculations, here is where your Earth planet is." Menshan pointed around a single area. "The threat is going at a steady pace. Unless it increases its velocity, the threat will reach your Earth in 5 month's time."

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**5 months... that's not that long. ****Danny needs to hurry.**

**Please don't flame badly, or else I'll crawl through your window and... and... I don't know... XD Other reviews are nice, though.**


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